1. Advances in the Molecular Imaging of Alzheimer’s Disease Neurobiological Mechanisms of Disease and Neuropsychiatric Symptoms

2. Advocating for Older Adults When Guardianship is Not the Answer

3. Aging, Delirium, and Post-Intensive Care Syndrome Novel Treatments and Future Directions

4. Challenges in 21st Century Inpatient Geriatric Psychiatry and Long-Term Care Practice

5. Evaluation and Treatment of Sleep Complaints in the Older Adult

6. Financial Abuse of the Elderly The Role of Psychiatrists

7. Firearms Access and Implications in Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment

8. Gay and Gray IX Turning Red, White and Blue How a History of Military Sexual Trauma Impacts the Lives of Older LGBT Veteran

9. Geriatric Psychiatrists’ Dilemma – Antipsychotics prescribing in Long Term Care

10. New Insights into Loneliness and its Treatment in Older Adults

11. New Research on Older-Age Bipolar Disorder (OABD) and Bipolar Disorder Across the Life-Span An Update From the International Society

12. Older Refugees Age Specific Challenges, Strengths, and Recommendations or Care

13. Public Policy Session 1 Advancing Health Equity through Public Policy

14. Public Policy Session 3 Connecting Surplus Medicine with Patients Policy & Technology

15. Public Policy Session 5 Asleep at the Switch How Geriatric Psychiatry, Implementation Science, and Health Policy

16. Quality Measurement in PsychPRO MIPS and Beyond

17. Racism and Ageism Addressing Patient and Physician Barriers to Improve Older Adult Care

18. Research Award Session Adventures in Dementia Epidemiology

19. Suicide in Late-Life Collaborative Approaches for Assessment, Prevention, and Treatment

20. Survive, Thrive or Die Out Medicare and the Practice of Geriatric Psychiatry.

21. Advocacy, Life and Death Geriatric Suicide and Physician Assisted Suicide

22. Ageist Policies – Discrimination Against Older Adults

23. Bridging the Gap between Neurology and Psychiatry-Atypical presentation of common neurodegenerative disorders

24. Caring for Older Patients with Complex Problems Challenges, Strategies, and the Veterans Health Administration Experience

25. Digital Tools in Geropsychiatry From Research to Patient Care

26. Driving in Dementia Advances in Research and Clinical Approaches

27. Public Policy Session 2 Architecture & Healing Raising the bar on resident-centered, long term care facility design

28. Public Policy Session 4 Ten years since the Federal Parity Law What Next Is Needed

29. Recipes for Adult Learning Innovations in teaching geriatric psychiatry

30. Results of the ADNI-Depression Study

The 2019 AAGP Annual Meeting, with the theme of “Engage for Change: Preparing and Partnering for the Future of Geriatric Mental Health” was held from Friday, 1 March 2019 – Monday, 4 March 2019 at the Hilton Atlanta, Georgia. A special Full Day Event was also held on Thursday, 28 February 2019, which included a full-day practice workshop, “Understanding a Career in Geriatric Psychiatry, from the Basics to the Complex”. Further workshops and special sessions included a full day Geriatric Psychiatry Board Review Course, a Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship Program Training Directors’ Workshop, and a Neuroscience Teaching Day.

Plenary sessions at the main meeting included a variety of topics, mostly with an advocacy and policy focus, including Physician Leadership in the Opioid Epidemic and Changes in Health Policy at the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Throughout the AAGP Annual Meeting, research of the AAGP membership was highlighted through many CME sessions, including New Research and a Late Breaking Poster Session. Presenters included several IPA members and other leaders in the field of dementia research. Presentations covered major mental disorders of late life, clinical pharmacotherapy and psychosocial treatments for late-life mental illness, age-related changes in pharmacologic response, behavioral interventions for managing agitation and other dementia-related behavioral issues, complementary treatment approaches, ethical issue such as advance directives and end-of-life care, culturally appropriate care to specific diverse populations, concepts of successful aging and quality of life, key issues in aging and mental health policy, applying the latest research methodologies and findings to clinical cases, and the role of caloric restriction in brain and neurodegenerative and vascular disorders, among many others.

The AAGP is proud of its robust member participation in supporting the AAGP Scholars Program, an opportunity for Psychiatry residents and medical students interested in a career working with older adults. Returning AAGP Honors Scholars and other early career members presented their work in oral presentations as well as a special Early Investigator Poster Session with Poster Rounds.

AAGP’s various committees, caucuses, and interest groups are the lifeblood of the organization and member participation is important step towards advocating for the future of the field and the health and care of geriatric patients. AAGP committees convening at the 2019 meeting included the International Medical Graduate (IMG) Caucus, the Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Members Interest Group, Public Policy Caucus, Retirement Age Caucus, Teaching and Training Committee, and Women’s Interest Group, among others.

Overall the 2019 AAGP meeting in Atlanta was a resounding success. IPA members are encouraged to save the date for the 2020 Annual Meeting: Translating Research Evidence into Clinical Geriatric Mental Healthcare, to be held at the Grand Hyatt in San Antonio, Texas from 13-16 March 2020.